Eric Barajas found guilty in 2 DUI deaths

Immediate family members of Eric Barajas, 36, who was found guilty on Saturday of two counts each of intoxicated manslaughter in the deaths of two pedestrians in 2009 watch as he is led away to jail. (Vanessa Monsisvais / El Paso Times)

After several hours of deliberations, jurors found Eric Barajas guilty of two counts of intoxicated manslaughter in the deaths of two pedestrians.

He had also faced two counts of manslaughter.

Barajas, 36, was tried in the deaths of Angela Gonzalez, 22, and her friend Orlando Figueroa, 26.

Gonzalez and Figueroa were struck by a car driven by Barajas on Oct. 26., 2009, in the 1400 block of Lee Treviño after they stepped off a median and onto the roadway.

After the reading of the verdict, Barajas' father shook his head with grief while Barajas' mother and sister's eyes filled with tears.

His family tried to remain strong as Barajas gave them each a kiss on the cheek and handed his suit jacket, tie and other personal belongings to them before being taken into custody.

REPORTER

Alex Hinojosa

But as his mother left the courtroom, she began to sob loudly and needed the help of her husband and daughter to stand up and walk.

During closing arguments Saturday, defense lawyers Theresa Caballero and Stuart Leeds had alleged that Gonzalez and Figueroa were drunk and not crossing at a crosswalk.

"They caused the accident, they contributed to it," Caballero said. "They were where they shouldn't have been. Even if they were sober, they were still where they shouldn't have been. But they were not there because they were sober but because they were drunk, and they weren't thinking and they weren't looking."

Friends and family of Gonzalez and Figueroa shook their heads in anger while listening to Caballero and Leeds.

Advertisement

After the verdict, they hugged each other in relief.

"It's about time," a friend of the Gonzalez family said while leaving the courtroom.

Caballero and Leeds said they were disappointed with the verdict and felt the deaths of Gonzalez and Figueroa overshadowed the fact that they were drunk and had not crossed at a crosswalk.

Eric Barajas, 36, was found guilty on Saturday of two counts each of intoxicated manslaughter in the deaths of two pedestrians in 2009. (Vanessa Monsisvais / El Paso Times)

"I don't feel like justice was done," Leeds said. "These cases involving deaths are the easiest cases for a prosecutor to win. The jury is prone to convict. I felt we had a real good legal issue on causation, but the verdict came back so fast that I don't think it was properly considered. They (jurors) couldn't get over the fact that there were two dead bodies."

State prosecutors said Barajas was driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.23 when he struck Gonzalez and Figueroa. A person is considered to be driving under the influence with a blood alcohol content of more than 0.08.

According to toxicology tests, Gonzalez's blood alcohol content was 0.24, while Figueroa's was 0.16.

Caballero also alleged that the guilty verdict might have been a result of a juror being bullied.

About three hours after deliberation had begun, a note was sent to the judge stating that one juror did not agree with the charges, Caballero said.

According to the note, one juror, described as "being very difficult," kept stating, "They (the prosecution) did not prove to me beyond a reasonable doubt."

The other 11 jurors explained their reasons for seeking a guilty verdict to the juror, but the juror remained "adamant," the notes stated.

Both Caballero and Leeds attempted to call a mistrial because of a hung jury, but the jurors were ordered by state District Judge Patrick Garcia to continue deliberating.

"We felt that the other 11 jurors were going to browbeat her until she reached a guilty verdict," Leeds said. "And within an hour, they came back with a guilty verdict."

Barajas will be sentenced at 8:30 a.m. Monday at 384th District Court.